


Jester and the Present Gnomes

by Anaquana



Category: Critical Role (Web Series), Mighty Nein - Fandom
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-25
Updated: 2019-05-25
Packaged: 2020-03-17 09:06:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,141
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18962170
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Anaquana/pseuds/Anaquana
Summary: It's New Dawn Eve and Jester is worried that the Present Gnomes won't know how to find her in Xhorhas.





	Jester and the Present Gnomes

"Caleb, what day is it today?" Jester asked as she stared out the library window at the falling snow. It was nice having a safe place to settle in Rosohna, but living in a city of perpetual night posed a bit of a challenge for people used to measuring their days by the rising and falling of the sun.

Caleb looked up from the book he was reading, thought a moment, and said, "It is the thirty-second of Duscar. Tomorrow is New Dawn."

Before he could go back to his studies, Jester squealed with excitement and stomped her feet. Nugget, sensing her glee, pranced around her, letting out the occasional high-pitched yip as the two danced together. Caleb merely sighed and set his book aside with a muttered, "Scheisse."

"What's going on in here?" Fjord poked his head through the door, an annoyed scowl on his sleepy face.

Jester danced over to him and grabbed his hands, pulling him all the way into the library. "Fjord! It's almost New Dawn! Do you know that that means?"

"No, I don't Jester. What does it mean?"

"It means the Present Gnomes are coming tonight!" she shrieked and spun about in a circle with her arms flung out wide. Nugget blinked around the room several times before settling at her feet, his tail slapping the floor with each wag.

By this time, the entirety of the Mighty Nein, awoken by Jester's voice and Nugget's barks, had made their way to the library to see what all the commotion was about.

"What are Present Gnomes?" Nott asked, a curious twinkle in her eyes.

Jester couldn't believe that her goblin friend didn't know about Present Gnomes. Glancing about the room, she could see that none of her friends knew what she was talking about and her joy dimmed just a bit. "Do you all really not know about Present Gnomes, because they are like the coolest thing ever."

"No, Jester, I don't think any of us know about Present Gnomes, so why don't you tell us about them." Beau exchanged amused expressions with Fjord as she took a seat by the fire, sipping at a steaming mug of tea courtesy of Caduceus who trailed into the room carrying a tray with more mugs and a large pot. Knowing Jester, this story was going to be entertaining at least.

"Okay, well…. Present Gnomes are gnomes, obviously, who teleport into your room on New Dawn Eve and leave presents under your pillow in exchange for pastries."

Nobody laughed at Jester's proclamation, but Yeza, who had yet to fully acclimate himself to Jester's outrageous stories, raised his eyebrows so high they were hidden by his hair. "Presents? Under your pillow?"

"Oh yeah, they used to leave me stuff every year when I lived in Nicodranas." Jester sighed wistfully and gave a small, sad smile. "I didn't get anything from them last year, but I think that's because I was traveling and they didn't know where to find me. But now that we have this house, I'm really hoping they know where I am this year."

There were a few moments of awkward silence as everyone tried to figure out how to respond in a positive way that didn't crush Jester's hopefulness.

"What sorts of presents do they leave?" Fjord finally asked. He was leaning nonchalantly against the door with his arms crossed against his chest. It was hard to tell what he was thinking or where he was going with his questions. "They must be small ones if they leave them under your pillow."

"Well, yeah, mostly small things like candy and toys and jewelry, but one time, they left me a dollhouse that looked like the Lavish Chateau. It was so big they had to set it in my bed next to me."

"All that in exchange for pastries?"

"Yeah, they _really_ love pastries. Maybe even more than I do. Mama said that the more of my pastries I shared with them throughout the year, the better the presents they would leave me." Jester cocked her head to the side as a sudden thought struck her. "Maybe that's why they never visited any of you – you never left them pastries!"

Everyone murmured their assent, assuring Jester that that must be the reason.

"Well, that's fine then, we'll just leave them a bunch of extra pastries and hope that makes up for not doing it throughout the year." As she said it, her eyes grew wide with fear and her hands flew to her mouth. "Oh, no," she moaned, "I ate all of the pastries this morning. This is going to be so terrible."

"Do the Present Gnomes not leave presents if there aren't any pastries for them?" Caduceus asked with genuine concern.

"Oh no, it's much worse than that. If they come, but there aren't any pastries, they still leave presents, but they take one of your teeth instead. And Fjord's tusks are growing back so nicely. I don't want them to take one of those!"

Fjord chuckled. "I think my tusks are going to be just fine, Jester."

"But what if they're not? I mean, if _I_ were a Present Gnome without any pastries, I would certainly want to take one of your tusks. Maybe even both."

"Well, we'll just have to go get some pastries, then, won't we. We can't have an orc without tusks, now can we?"

"I guess you're right, Beau. Do you want to come with me to buy pastries? Nott? Yasha?"

Beau and Yasha nodded, but Nott shook her head.

"No thank you, Jester, that snow is already up to my chest, I'm afraid I'd get lost and drown in it if it gets much deeper." Nott said, wrapping her hand around Yeza's and squeezing it for comfort.

"Okay. Do you want us to bring you back anything special like something with cinnamon or icing or jelly?"

"I'm sure whatever you choose will be fine."

"Okay, see you guys later!" she chirped with a renewed grin and headed for the door, Nugget on her heels.

It took them longer than usual to make their way through the deepening snow to the Gallimaufrey district which was eerily silent with almost no other creatures about, but the lights in many of the shops blazed warmly and Jester headed toward her favorite bakery. The three women lingered over their pastry choices and chatted with the baker about the uncharacteristic amount of snow they were receiving to forestall their inevitable trek back through the even deeper snow (and for Jester to proselytize about the wonders of both the Present Gnomes and the Traveler).

By the time they returned to the house, the snow had risen another few inches and the boughs of Caduceus's tree drooped dangerously low to the roof with all the excess weight. But, inside, the house was warm and Caduceus was in the process of cooking up a lovely meal.

The trio of women had just shrugged out of their snow-covered outerwear and were in the process of hanging everything by the kitchen fireplace to dry when Fjord trudged in through the back door, just as covered in snow as they were.

"And where did you go, Fjord?" Jester asked, kicking out of her sodden boots with a wet splurt.

"Oh, just out back to check on the moorbounders. They don't seem to like the snow very much," Fjord mumbled, looking a bit nonplussed.

"Did you make sure Yarnball has the stuffed roc I bought her? She can't sleep without it."

"Yes, she has it." Said stuffed roc was nothing more than several tattered scraps of cloth with a bit of stubborn cotton fluff clinging to it and had been that way since about two minutes after Jester had gifted it to her moorbounder.

"Good good good good good. I don't want her to get lonely out there."

Caduceus trundled past them carrying a tray laden with steaming vegetables. "Enough talking, let's all sit down and eat."

In honor of the impending holiday, Caduceus had outdone himself with his cooking and everyone stuffed themselves into a stupor.

"Before everyone heads off to bed," Caduceus said after Jester and Nott had cleared the dishes from the table, "I found this in one of the little shops down in the market and the shopkeeper assured me that it was perfect for drinking on a cold night."

He bustled off into the kitchen and returned carrying his tea tray, but instead of his usual tea, the glasses were filled with a thick, dark brown liquid.

"Is that melted chocolate?" Jester whispered in awe.

"Chocolate, some heavy cream, and just a pinch of cinnamon and spicy red pepper. She said it's called 'hot cocoa'." Caduceus handed a mug to everyone before raising his in a toast. "This is our first New Dawn knowing each other and being friends, but I feel closer to you all than to some of my own blood family. I can't see where the future will lead us, but if we stay true to ourselves and true to each other, I know we're going to do good deeds out in the world. To the Mighty Nein!"

"To the Mighty Nein!" everyone chorused.

They drifted off to their own separate rooms to bed down for the night, all of them wondering just what the next day and the future might hold for them.

*****

"Theycametheycametheycametheycame!" Jester's bedroom door slammed open and the sound of Jester's feet pounding against the floorboards echoed as she ran through the house banging on everyone else's doors. "Praise the Traveler, the Present Gnomes came last night!"

She ended her run in the common room where Fjord was already sitting, a mug of tea in his hands.

"Fjord, the Present Gnomes came last night!" she crowed, raising her arms so that Fjord could see the bundle she carried.

"I see that, Jester. Did they bring you anything good?" he asked before taking a sip from his mug. The rest of the Mighty Nein started to trickle into the common room, their own arms laden with presents.

"They did!" Jester flopped to the floor in front of the fireplace and spread her presents in front of her. "I got a new notebook, and some very pretty metallic paints, and a paintbrush, but I don't think it's a magical paintbrush like my other one, just a regular one. And Nugget got this huge bone which he's gnawing on and Sprinkles got a pretty ribbon collar with a bell on it."

She looked up and grinned at everyone else. "What did you guys get?"

"I got a book, ja." Caleb settled into his favorite chair, caressing the leather binding of the book he was holding. "It is about the history of Xhorhas and the Kryn."

"Oh, that sounds very interesting. Did Frumpkin get anything?"

"Ja, a feathery ball attached to a string for him to play with."

Beau held up her present. "I got a pair of really nice leather gloves with fancy scroll-work on them."

Jester jumped up and grabbed the gloves from Beau's hands to examine them, much to Beau's chagrin. "Oh, these _are_ very nice." She handed the gloves back to Beau and looked around the room again. "What about the rest you?"

"A box of buttons."

"An alchemy set."

"Xhorhasian tea and a new tea pot."

"Night-blooming flower seeds to plant in the garden when it gets warmer."

As each of her friends showed their gifts, Jester grew more and more excited until it was only Fjord who hadn't offered up what the "Present Gnomes" had given him.

"What about you Fjord, what did you get?" Jester's brow was furrowed with worry as she scanned her eyes over Fjord, looking for any sign of a present. "Did they not bring you anything? Did you forget to leave out the pastries for them?"

Fjord grinned, flashing his teeth. "Don't worry, Jester, they gave me something."

"Well, what is it? Or," and she winked salaciously at him, "is it something you don't want to show the rest of us?"

Fjord blushed and shook his head, but his smile never dimmed. "No, no, nothing like that. In fact, if you look hard enough, you'll be able to see what I got."

Jester narrowed her eyes and studied Fjord with a fierce intensity for several moments before she gasped and ran toward him. She grabbed him by the face with one hand, her superior strength holding him in place as she poked at him with the fingers on her other hand. "Oh wow, Fjord! They made your tusks grow longer. Look, they're definitely longer than they were yesterday."

"Yeah, Jester, that's what they gave me – longer tusks."

From behind Jester's shoulder, Beau gave Fjord a thumb's up and mouthed, "You did a good job."


End file.
